Northern Virginia has become a battleground for data centers and residents who oppose them.
While one data center company just retreated, another is forging ahead to build a massive facility at the edge of a historic Civil War battlefield.
Compass Datacenters announced its withdrawal from its nearly decade-long effort to pursue information technology opportunities in Prince William County, Virginia, following local opposition to its construction plans.
The proposed 2,100-acre Digital Gateway Project faced immediate pushback in large part because it was situated right next to the Manassas National Battlefield Park, the site of two major Civil War battles.
The First Battle of Bull Run — which is where Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson received the nickname "Stonewall" — and the Second Battle of Bull Run took place there.
Dallas-based Compass had spent tens of millions of dollars before withdrawing due to public opposition and state lawmakers pulling back on tax breaks, according to Bloomberg.
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"Compass has reached the unfortunate conclusion that we cannot move forward," President AJ Byers said in a statement. "While we still believe this project offered significant benefits for the region and our neighbors, recent legal actions and compounding regulatory hurdles have effectively closed a viable path forward."
The legal action Byers referenced centered around a zoning vote at a board of county supervisors meeting in December 2023. Hundreds showed up, as opponents and supporters lobbied for 27 straight hours.
However, the lawsuits claimed that there was improper notification for the hearing, and a Virginia judge upheld an earlier ruling that the zoning approvals were invalid because the public notices for the meeting fell short of legal requirements.
While Compass decided to stop fighting, another developer is pushing the issue all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. QTS Data Centers decided to appeal lower court's ruling, refusing to give up on the Digital Gateway.
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"The Prince William Board of County Supervisors previously approved this project, which would bring critical infrastructure and tens of billions of dollars in investment to the county, including millions of dollars in local annual tax revenue and thousands of high-paying permanent job opportunities," a spokesperson for QTS Data Centers said, per The Washington Post.
"We remain committed to the project and being a responsible partner to the Prince William County community."
Despite QTS' flowery depiction of these massive data centers, communities across the country are being confronted with the reality of having one in their backyard. From light pollution to mind-numbing noise pollution to the incredible amounts of energy and water used by these data centers, people are getting fed up and fighting back.
"QTS is clearly fighting a losing battle," American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan said in a statement. "Judges throughout this Commonwealth, including a unanimous panel at the appellate level, have repeatedly ruled that the rezonings for this monstrosity are illegal."
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